RomanPunks is a retrofuturistic, cyberpunk derivative world-building project inspired by fine art, history and the cryptopunk movement.
A total of 1,000 RomanPunk characters have been frozen in time and minted as Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum, WAX, Polygon and Algorand blockchains.
RomanPunk characters are comprised of commoners and famous individuals based on Roman history, art history and pop culture.
The basis for RomanPunk lore and backstories is exhaustively researched by history/sci-fi buff and co-founder, Punktavian.
All images are drawn by hand by woman artist and co-founder, Cleopunktra, without the aid of AI or generative tools.
RomanPunks came into existence through early minting on OpenSea, promoting on Twitter and building a Discord community through giveaways and engagement. The idea of a cyberpunk-derivative ‘RomanPunk’ theme was in our heads for years, but it was the success of the Cryptopunks that became the catalyst for project conception and launch.
After a hard working first 60 days spent networking and attracting new collectors to RomanPunks, our community had begun to flourish and sales increased. We began to offer our collectors an opportunity to battle their NFTs in a tournament bracket powered by dice rolls.
Encouraged by the tight knit community and the carbon-neutral blockchain with lightning fast and low cost transactions, we launched 'romanpunksio' collection on WAX Blockchain as the first step to expand the backstories of our RomanPunk characters and the baseline for future development of a card game.
RomanPunks integrated with Chainlink Labs to utilize VRF (Verified Randomness Function) to host a giveaway raffle for our holders. We developed a smart contract on Ethereum which guarantees true random number selection on chain and can be used for a wide range of functions that require random selection.
After much anticipation in the community, we released our first WAX NFT card 'pack' through the Neftyblocks platform, which sold out in less than a week.
We launched our Twitch channel and begun building an audience by offering numerous giveaways of WAX NFTs from our collection, as well as giving participants a chance to win RomanPunk ETH NFT airdrops for taking top spot at the end of the 'season'.
As firm believers in a metaverse future and land owners in The Sandbox, we undertook to build the RomanPunk Colosseum on 1x1 land and entered our experience "Gladiator Bloodsport" into a GameJam contest. We will continue to build the Colosseum into a PVP arena and social hub once The Sandbox offers creators the ability to do so.
Thanks to the user friendly tools offered by NeftyBlocks, we launched a comprehensive blending system on WAX, allowing our collectors to blend the common NFTs they earn in our Discord RPG up into Legendary famous NFTs through the use of blending 'coins' that can also be earned on the Discord as reward for helping to promote the RomanPunks project.
We launched the VX collection on Polygon. Each owner of an ETH NFT gets their voxel equivalent airdropped to them, and these NFTs can be redeemed for official NFTs on The Sandbox Marketplace once available.
All 1,000 original, unique 1:1 RomanPunk characters hand drawn by Cleopunktra and minted on OpenSea.
The RomanPunk WAX NFT Trading Card Fighter Pack Series II consists of 3 NFTs randomly selected from over 236 characters.
Upcoming plans for RomanPunks include:
Below is a comprehensive and searchable directory of all 1,000 RomanPunk Characters.
Born 145 BC in Sinope, Zoi and her brother Pythodoris were servants of Pluto, God of the Underworld, who fought for Mithridates the Great, were slain by the Romans and sent to purgatory where they are forced to fight an endless battle against impossible odds.
Born 141 AD in Rome, Acquilina is a loyal temple guard who is always on the lookout for her troublesome sister, Eleanora, who frequently sneaks through the interdimensional portal in search of a good party.
Born in 261 AD in Olisipo, Dobiteina and her husband Arco are time slaves who toiled as resurrection gladiators in a distant time and place. After living thousands of lifetimes, they escaped and returned to the 3rd century AD where they triumphed with advanced tactics and equipment in the colosseum.
Born 275 BC in Ancyra, as a child Dania was abducted by aliens and pressed into planetary defense service in a distant solar system.
Born 178 AD in Skara Brae, Fergus is a landed equestrian from a tranquil island paradise. He sprang into action upon learning of Severus and Caracalla’s invasion of Caledonia. Utilizing his extensive network of merchants, spies, and dimension hoppers, Fergus tainted a rack of lamb with a lethal COVID-XIX variant acquired from the Han Empire. This dish was served to Emperor Severus, leading to his premature death and the subsequent halt of the invasion.
Born in 260 AD in Palmyra, Elysia is the daughter of a wealthy priest of Sol Invictus and was advisor to Queen Zenobia. She rose to become a preeminent chronocartographer, a specialized navigator who maps the pathways between dimensions. Upon Aurelian’s invasion, Elysia charmed the emperor, offering her temporal services to immortalize him through time. But hubris brought his end, as a time assassin intervened to stop Aurelian’s power grab.
Born 733 BC in Neapolis, Bardash was captured and enslaved by King Midas after an unsuccessful raid into his Kingdom of Phrygia. Known for his knowledge of and resistance to poisons, Bardash became an alchemist and food taster for the king.
Born in 496 AD in Cuenca in a dimension where the Roman Empire had conquered America, not much else is known about Killa other than they are a bloodthirsty, undefeated gladiator known as the Cyberdemon who hops dimensions to challenge new foes across space and time.
Born 2010 AD in Alalia, Kael is the silver-spoon heir of a techno-aristocratic family with deep Roman and Punic roots. Restless within his luxurious cybernetic world, he sought adventure beyond his privileged life. During a voyage across the Tyrrhenian Sea with his love, Sienna Elara, a sudden whirlpool transported them to an alternate Roman realm dominated by sentient apes. Stripped of status, Kael must navigate a society where humans are subjugated, forging uneasy alliances with sympathetic apes and confronting the authoritarian simian rulers. His wit and resilience are tested as he strives to survive, challenge the oppressive ape hierarchy, and find a way back home.
Born 275 AD in Alexandria, Babi was a victim of Emperor Diocletian’s Christian persecutions, being forced to fight as a gladiator. Taking it in stride, Babi flourished in the arena until freed by Constantine’s reforms.
Born in 242 AD in Mediolanum, Alexa Servilianus quickly rose through the ranks of Emperor Aurelian’s legion in Germany after stepping into a dimension portal in Lake Como and returning equipped and skilled with the lightsaber.
Born 397 AD in Sirmium, Exene was a war child who spent her youth on the battlefield where she met her husband Alaviv. Together they sacked and pillaged Africa with Genseric’s army until the king, feeling his rule threatened, exiled her through an interdimensional portal to the 20th century.
Born in 250 AD in Nicomedia, Galerius was a celebrated general in a Decopunk alternate universe. His life changed drastically in 303 AD when revolutionaries inspired by ‘Roma’ Luxemburg set fire to the imperial palace, trapping him inside. Severely disfigured and presumed dead, Galerius survived, later re-emerging as the enigmatic ‘Phantom of Nicomedia.’ Now veiled in scars, he operates from the shadows, engaging in McCarthyesque methods and experimenting with emergent time travel technology in a vain attempt to undo the tragic events that reshaped his destiny.
Born 2175 AD in Alexandria, Aker is a clerical assistant at the Library of Alexandria Innovation Hub where researchers have developed the “Giza Glasses”, a groundbreaking AR technology that enables wearers to temporarily inhabit bodies across dimensions. Night after night, Aker sneaks into the library’s vault to use the glasses, immersing himself in the lives of ancient pharaohs to experience firsthand the splendor and challenges of divine rule.
Born in 142 AD in Salona, Decima is an acrobatic martial artist who joined the legion at a young age disguised as a boy, and was soon spotted by a dimension-traveling priest who sent her to the 28th century AD to avoid discovery.
